10-27-2020, 11:06 AM
(10-27-2020, 10:56 AM)PhilHos Wrote: I'm not arguing it is or isn't a cult. What I'm saying is that if PoP really treated women as property, there'd be plenty of real world examples to highlight instead of constantly referencing a fictional piece of work.
You bring up Scientology. There are plenty of examples of negative things Scientology is guilty of (excuse, me, ALLEGEDLY guilty of ). If ACB was a scientologist, they would be pointing to those examples not equating scientology to some fictional equivalences (equate it to Dianetics, maybe ).
In any event, arguing her beliefs would impact postively/negatively on her ruling is one thing. Belittling her because of said beliefs is altogether different, unnecessary and SHOULD have no place on these forums.
I think we're conflating terms a bit here. When I say "treat women like property" I'm not saying that the bar for that is Handmaid's Tale or nothing. A cult could very easily treat women as property without making them slaves, as in the story. Indoctrinating women to believe that their place is in the kitchen, for example, is a form of this treatment. To what extent PoP does this, I don't know. But it's not as easy as "they're either slaves or they're entirely free of indoctrination."
And I think that is the chief accusation thrown at PoP. Their purported patriarchal structure negatively impacts the women who belong to the group and, thus, are reminiscent of a cult. They are outside of cultural norms enough to have a dystopian story based on them, after all.
So, if she is genuinely part of a cult, I don't think saying "she's part of a cult" or referencing her as a cult member (or leader, if a handmaid is a leader) would be belittling religion in general. I think it is just pointing out that she's part of a cult.
Maybe it is being done flippantly in some contexts here (these forums are not generally known for their nuance and level headedness, after all), but I don't think the sentiment behind criticizing a cult member for being in a cult is inherently anti-religious.